Well, this week has been chaos in the media with the video of Jane Lomax-Smith sharing her opinion with us in May being reported on as well as an exposé on Child Labour within the Australian Orgs by Today Tonight.

It started off with The Messenger Newspaper (The City Messenger & Eastern Courier specificly):

J-Lo snared in YouTube video

Louise Russell 09 Jul 08

CITY of Adelaide Minister Jane Lomax-Smith unknowingly appears in an internet video in which she brands members of Scientology as “bastards” while criticising the group’s entitlement to tax exemptions for religious organisations.

Her comments were secretly filmed in May by the internet collective Anonymous, which has been conducting protests against Scientology and posted on the online video site, YouTube.

Anonymous members, often wearing eye-catching disguises, have been holding monthly protests against Scientology and its teachings.

The YouTube video shows Dr Lomax-Smith in front of a restaurant in Waymouth St, next door to Scientology, asking a group of masked people: “Are you all related to someone who’s been sucked in?”

The video, which appeared to be taken without Dr Lomax-Smith’s consent, then hears her discussing Scientology’s tax exemptions, a status shared by other religious organisations and charities.

“They should be taxed, the bastards,” she is heard saying. “They shouldn’t be tax free, we’re subsidising them.”

In an emailed statement from the ministers’ media adviser Leah Manuel, Dr Lomax-Smith said: “It was a private conversation and I was expressing a personal view. There’s nothing more to add.”

Scientologist spokesman Nigel Manock said he was aware of the video and had sought clarification from the State Government, which had responded by saying Dr Lomax-Smith’s views did not reflect State Labor antidiscrimination

Then The Advertiser picked up on it:

Jane Lomax-Smith: Scientologists are ‘bastards’ who should be taxed

MICHAEL OWEN, POLITICAL REPORTER July 10, 2008 03:20pm

EDUCATION Minister Jane Lomax-Smith has been caught on tape declaring Scientologists “should be taxed, the bastards”.

Footage from a video recorded during a protest on May 10 by internet activist group Anonymous has emerged which shows Dr Lomax-Smith casually chatting to protesters in Adelaide.

Clearly not a fan of the controversial Church of Scientology, Dr Lomax-Smith asks protesters how frequently they gather and exclaims, “oh, it’s great”.

She then asks about the protest group, which is dedicated to “dismantling and destroying” the Church of Scientology.

Watch the video here – the footage featuring Jane Lomax-Smith begins at the 8:05 mark, towards the end of the recording

It wants the church’s tax-exempt status rescinded, alleging it is a cult rather than a religion.

The religious organisation is regularly in the news for its beliefs and high-profile celebrity spokespeople such as Tom Cruise, as well as its fundraising activities.

Dr Lomax-Smith tells protesters: “They should be taxed, the bastards. They shouldn’t be tax-free, we’re subsidising them.”

She then says: “I like your masks.”

In an emailed statement issued today, Dr Lomax-Smith said: “It was a private conversation and I was expressing a personal view. There’s nothing more to add.”

Church of Scientology Australia president Vicki Dunstan said the organisation was entitled to the same rights as other churches “and the full bench of the High Court of Australia unanimously confirmed this in 1983″.

“Dr Lomax-Smith is an elected official and as such represents the voice and rights of the many different races, cultures and creeds in their electorate,” Ms Dunstan said.

“She has a duty to follow the policy of her party and refrain from making derogatory public comments that promote intolerance and violate the very basis of our democratic constitution.”

State Opposition Leader Martin Hamilton-Smith said Dr Lomax-Smith’s assertion that the church should not be exempt from tax “flies in the face of federal and state decisions to exempt the church from taxes”.

“The Treasurer has signed off on exemptions from state payroll taxes and they include organisations such as the Church of Scientology,” Mr Hamilton-Smith said.

“If Dr Lomax-Smith thinks that’s wrong, then she should raise her concerns with (Treasurer Kevin Foley) and justify her case.”

Then The Australian:

Scientologists are bastards: minister

July 10, 2008

A SOUTH Australian minister has attacked the Church of Scientology, branding its members as “bastards”.

Education and Children’s Services Minister Jane Lomax-Smith made the comment to a group of protesters outside the church’s offices in Adelaide.

She was recorded and the video was posted on You Tube sometime after the protest earlier this year.

Ms Lomax-Smith was critical of Scientology’s tax-free status as a religious organisation.

“They should be taxed – the bastards,” she told the small group of protesters from an internet collective called Anonymous.

“They shouldn’t be tax-free, we’re subsidising them.”

The minister approached the group whose members wear masks and asked whether they were all related to someone who had been “sucked in” by scientology.

She has described her comments as personal views made in a private conversation.

Scientology attracts high-profile converts around the world including actor Tom Cruise who is believed to have introduced one of Australia’s richest men, Jamie Packer, to the church and its practices.

[Edit: WE JUST MADE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA - UPI reported on it:]

Official backed in Scientology flap

Published: July 10, 2008 at 9:25 PM

ADELAIDE, Australia, July 10 (UPI) — The South Australian government said Friday that the education minister had a right to call Scientologists “bastards” in a video posted on YouTube.

Jane Lomax-Smith made the comments in May when she encountered demonstrators from a group that calls itself Anonymous outside the Church of Scientology headquarters in Adelaide, The Australian reports. Lomax-Smith asked the masked protesters if they were related to people who had been “sucked in” by Scientology.

“They should be taxed, the bastards,” she added. “They shouldn’t be tax-free; we’re subsidizing them. I like your masks.”

Anonymous posted the video on the Internet, leading to an official protest from the church to South Australian Premier Mike Rann. In a statement Thursday from Sydney, the church said that Lomax-Smith should not promote intolerance.

Rann’s office said that Lomax-Smith was giving her own views in a private conversation as she has a right to do.

The church, founded by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, has a number of high-profile members, including movie stars John Travolta and Tom Cruise.

It was also reported on on Channel 7 News Adelaide on the 10th of July, but I am unaware of any cap of it – if you have one, could you please share it to us and link to it in the comments. There was also a much longer print version of the Messenger Article, published in the “Issues” section of The Eastern Courier on the 3rd of July, which we would also like to get a copy of.

The Video in question that they are reporting on is the May 10th Raid video:

And finally, The Today Tonight reports (Scientology: If your listening, we had nothing to do with the making of these videos, we do not work with Channel 7 or Today Tonight in any way)
Part 1:

Scientology Child Labor Exposed on Australian National TV from GrahamS on Vimeo.

Part 2:

Today Tonight Covers Scientology 2 from Syd Anon on Vimeo.

Update: Third Page of the Advertiser (July 11th 2008) Full page article on the Dr Lomax-Smiths comments and us!

Update 2: Checked the Enturbulation Thread.. More Sources:

Thaindian News – Oz minister brands Scientologists bastards [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
LIVENEWS.com.au > National > SA Premier clears minister to call Scientologists bastards
State Government Minister: Scientologists are Bastards
AdelaideNow… Jane Lomax-Smith: Scientologists are ‘bastards’ who should be taxed
Australian Politician: Scientologists Are Bastards!
AdelaideNow… Minister ‘free to call Scientologists bastards’ [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Transcript of a satire peice done by 5AA:

Conlon= Keith Conlon
Pilkington= Tony Pilkington

Pilkington: What about Jane Lomax having a go at the Scientologists and she says, it’s a con and they ought to be taxed, and it’s been put up on the ‘net this morning!
Conlon: The context is that when that anonymous group, the white faces … did their protest a few weeks ago she went and talked to them and this is the soundtrack from the video. So it wasn’t a public statement by her, she was just chatting to them ,but she quite clearly thinks they’re a cult and that they should be taxed. Of course, they should be tax free because they won the right to be a church in Australia
Pilkington: They won … a High Court decision … in the eighties …
Conlon: Somebody should take it on again some time!
Pilkington: Gary’s here …
Jon Blake (As Lomax-Smith) No, sorry it’s not Gary, sorry that must be from some previous caller. It’s Jane Lomax-Smith.
Conlon: Hello there
Jon Blake Hooo, hello. hahahahahaha, look I was going to ring you about this, because it’s really a *missing word* issue and I knew it was close to your heart Keith because you hate them as much as I do.
Conlon: I do, yes.
Jon Blake So … why don’t we have a yelling match? I’ll start off with an abuse and then you come back with one. Bastards.
Conlon: Yeah, shocking.
Jon Blake No, no … You come back with asshole, and I say, ‘mongrels’, and you can say ‘turds’, and I’ll say ‘money driven wackos’, ‘volcano living spaced out goonbars’ and then you can ‘twats’ and then we can use the c-word – call them a bunch of ‘cults’ , a bunch of cults! … Come on, you’re not joining in Keith. I thought you’d be, it’s right up your alley isn’t it, really? Hmmmm? Are you wearing your magic underwear. No, that’s the Mormans isn’t it? we’ll get them next. Byeeeeee, hahahaha
Conlon:…The Mormans don’t charge you thousands of dollars to improve your personality.
Pilkington: So they won a High Court decision back in the eighties … to be considered a church and as such it’s tax exempt …
Conlon: Unlike Germany where they’re banned.

Update 3:

Print Articles:
The Advertiser [Page 3 11th July 2008]
The Australian [11th July 2008]

Categories: July 12th Protest, May 10th Protest, Media, Tax Exempt
18 Comments »